It fell away badly after the main break, the Capitals devoid of the energy and intensity. which unsettled the big Rangers outfit.

There are high hopes Jackson will return from knee surgery early in the season, while Zavecz is expected to miss only two or three more games.

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Point guard Montgomery will fly to Australia after Minnesota Lynx's WNBL Finals series against Indiana.

"I'm super disappointed because the way we played the first half, and in particular the first quarter, we can beat anyone in this league playing like that," Wilson said.

"We've shown we can play that intensity, then we have a second half where it just went stagnant again.

"We moved the ball so well in that first half, but in the second half it felt like there was a lot of standing around waiting for someone else to do something.

"When they got momentum we went on the back foot, rather than attacking like we were in the first half."

However Wilson said there were enough positive signs, particularly from players brought in at late notice that suggested they will be tough to beat at full strength.

"[The second half] felt like a lot of last season coming back to haunt us, and I really wanted this to be a start of something new," Wilson said. "But the positive is it was the start of something new and we showed we can play so well, we've just got to be consistent with it.

"I don't think anyone would have expected us to play that well early on.

"That is the big positive, that we can play like that and know we still have some studs to come back in."

The Capitals will look to bounce back on the road against Sydney Flames on Wednesday, who lost their first game of the season in Perth.